Beading on shelf lining vinyl

[dancingwater]

I'm starting on my leggings and hairties for my jingle outfit. I'm using the lap pads (crib liners) for the leggings, but someone here suggested using vinyl placemats for beadwork, and I went out looking for some, but the closest thing I found was at Kmart, its by Martha Stewart, called Heavy Duty Solid Shelf Liner. Comes in a roll, (5 feet by 12 inches) lots of different colors, but I found one thats a smokey clear (Great for tracing your pattern!!) I'm starting to do my hairties on it, and I love it! But I'm wondering if anyone else has used something like this, and how it holds up? Seems pretty sturdy and very easy to bead thru.

[j_j24]

I have, I use the vinyl placemats for all my accesories-choker,barette,braidholders,medallion. It really works!

[Riverwoman]

Are those the kind of placemats that you put on a dining table How do they hold up, if that is the right thing that I mean

[dancingwater]

The vinyl shelf lining stuff I used was a little thinner than the placemats. Arent most place mats actually 2 layers of vinyl w/ cloth between? Nywhos, I have photos of the beadwork I finished on it, worked nicely. I backed it with a layer of crib liner and then leather, then did edgework all around it so you couldnt see any of the layers. Seems pretty sturdy. I was afraid that it would 'tear' from all the holes, but I didnt have any problems with it tearing, stretching, or shifting on me. All major problems I've had before w/ leather or cloth.

I'll post the pics asap.

[j_j24]

Yes they are the ones you put on the table-lol! They work pretty good too.

[dancingwater]

Heres the start of the small section of my hairtie on the vinyl.

[dancingwater]

And the finished beadwork (almost)....now I just have to finish assembling everything :-)

[Blackbear]

LOVE that design and colors!!! be sure to post a pic of the finished deal ok?

[Riverwoman]

Will have to head to Wal-Mart and get some of those myself:) Any particular sizes that are used? Am I getting this right, the ones you put on the table, are they thick,thin etc?? By the way awesome work:Chatter

[alaskashadowwolf]

Beautiful work Dancing Water!!!!

[dancingwater]

Thanks everyone :-) Its my first attempt at applique, and I'm really self critical....But I'm slowly improving. I'm glad the design worked out well....that was the hardest part!! I love those cobolt blue whitehearts, the color is just awesome :-)

Tahemet, as far as the thickness of the placemats j_j24 is using, I dont know...but that vinyl stuff is really pretty thin, very flexable, but...I dont know how to explain it.... Its not as thin as those cheapy plastic placemats, but not much thicker, almost feels like rubber. I think those plastic ones would tear easy ( I remember peeling the plastic layers off the cloth when I was little LOL) So watch out for those.

Thanks again for the kind words everyone :-)

[Riverwoman]

I think I know what to go and look for now;) Awesome work!HOla for your first project, that kicks ***!:D

[marilyn]

beading

hi thanx for the tip on vinyl also currently i use the card bord from ceareal boxes for my hair ties and barrets . how i do it is draw the desighn on the card bord,also there is a layer of felt underneight it so that its not just card bord holding it together

[eagleclan22]

I do the same thing too, use cardboard from cereal boxes or chip boxes.. but I was thinking of trying to use the heavy duty heat-n-bond... because I was thinking that the light heat n bond makes my applique work pretty stiff so maybe the ultra heat n bond will make it even stiffer without me having to use any actual glue.. The other reason why I thought it would be good to try is because, to make my beadwork flatter I used glue and fabric and it made my beadwork even flatter..... so Im gonna try that BUT Im going to leave enough of an edge with the heatnbond beacause you cant sew that ultra heatnbond stuff, so Ill leave a bit of an edge so I can do my edging work on my stuff.... did that make any sense??

[Czechy]

I'll be curious to know how the plastic liner or vinyl holds up over time. I work in the museum field and often see the results of how different materials age over the years. Plastics, depending upon the type, can be either fairly permanent or terribly unstable. For example, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) has stabilisers in it which make it fairly permanent in optimal conditions but when it is exposed to heat or light creates hydrochloric acid as it degrades. Artifacts made of cardboard are notoriously unstable. Eventually, cardboard discolors, becomes brittle and breaks apart, turning to dust. Long-term durability is a concern of mine especially if I put a lot of money and effort into my beadwork.

Well, I don't want to make this post into a chemistry lesson. Anyway, my hat's off to you brave souls willing to experiment with the "new" materials (crib liner, vinyl placemats, fun foam, etc).